A/N: The Clancy's travel out of town for Aaron's baseball championship! Enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 48
Delia - 46
Melinda - 44
Ned - 22
Katie - 19
Aaron - 15
Mackenzie - 9
Lana - 8 months

Today was the big day. The baseball championships were today and Aaron was pitching during first was a lot riding on his shoulders and he didn't want to let his friends or family down by pitching terribly.

His father knocked on the door as he walked into his room. "Maybe my lucky glove will help," Jim said and held out the brown glove that he used when he was a kid "I pitched my first game with this old thing when I was ten."

"So I started younger than you did?" he asked, taking the mitt from his hand.

Aaron was nearly sixteen now, having recently grown almost six inches this summer. He was the same height as Katie for the last year but now, he was nearly the same height as his father, and his mother hated it. Her baby boy was way too tall for her liking or so Melinda would say.

Jim happened to like seeing his son become a man. He enjoyed having someone to talk sports with every day and wrestle around with because as much fun as his girls were, they didn't like getting their hair messed with or thrown around.

"Awesome!" He said.

"Yeah, but you're a lot better than I ever was too." His dad said and sat on his bed, patting his shoulder. "Don't be so nervous. Just try and use the crowd energy as something to relax from, even if it's tense."

Aaron nodded, putting the mitt on. It may not have been the newest or best glove in the world but it was the glove his dad used when he played baseball. He claimed he never lost a game if he used this glove.

"You all ready to go?" His dad asked, looking to see a suitcase. "You remembered to pack for the cabin right? We're staying there this weekend since the championship goes into tomorrow morning and it's only a twenty-minute drive."

"Almost. I'm just nervous." He muttered, clearing his throat as he pulled the glove off, tossing it on the bed as he stood up. "Yeah, I packed." He grabbed his bag from inside his closet and grabbed his baseball cap off his nightstand.

"That's reasonable. I always got nervous right before a big game." His father shrugged.

"What did you do to calm your nerves?" He asked and he pats a spot next to him on my bed as he sits down.

"When I was younger my dad used to give me and my older brother pep talks before every game. But if the nerves still lingered, I would just throw a ball into the air and catch it for a few minutes and eventually, I'd calm down." He explained, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Don't tell your mother this, but in high school, I used to kiss my girlfriend until I forgot I was nervous."

"Sweet," Aaron slid his hand through his hair, was his dad hinting at something? Should he go find Lucy before the game? "Maybe I'll go find mine then."

Should he try and sneak off her with? Lucy was coming to the game. She was on the junior cheerleading squad. They'd been dating since the eighth grade, back when they used to kiss in private and only hold hands when they were alone and walking home together from school, but it was different now they were older.

"Definitely," Jim said and high-fived him. "You've got a shot at being on varsity next year as a sophomore if you impress these coaches today. You just have to keep with your practicing all year until tryouts. I'll try and bring you to the cages as much as I can."

They started down the stairs just as Melinda came up to yell for them. "Boys!" She exclaimed. "Good. We need to get out of here soon."

"We're ready," Jim said, kissing her as they stepped off the stairs. "Aaron and I were just talking baseball."

"You're always talking baseball," she muttered and folded her arms over her chest. "Can you go out and start loading up the jeep? All of the bags are by the backend except Aaron's. Is that his?" She noticed their son had a bag swung over his shoulder as he passed them on his way out the door. "You better put that bat back there too."

"Yeah, I'll go make sure. Pack the cooler?" He asked, running his hands up and down her sides.

"Katie is finishing up for me," she said. "Let me go double check and grab my bags. Then we should be golden."

Jim turned and went outside while Melinda went into the kitchen where the rest of the family was. Katie was finishing up with all the drinks and snacks for the games today in the cooler while Mackenzie was eating goldfish and Ned was holding Lana while reading off the list she had written out for everything that had to be inside the cooler before they left.

"Katie, are you ready?" She asked, taking the list and looking inside the cooler. Everything was there. All they had to do was grab bag ice from the gas station to keep it all cold now.

"Yep. All packed and ready to go. So is Ned." Katie said, checking her phone and grabbing her purse. "Phone is all charged and we just filled up the car. I've been ready for over half an hour and people say girls take forever. I swear Aaron is always the last one."

"Be nice," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Ned? You all good?"

"Yep," Ned handed over Lana to her and went over to grab the cooler. "I'm gonna bring this out front. Should we put it in Katie's car since you guys have all the luggage?"

"Sounds good," she moved out of her way and grabbed her water bottle from the fridge. "Kenz? You all packed?"

"Yep!" The nine-year-old nodded.

"Okay. You should go grab yourself a seat in the jeep." She suggested, looking at Mack. She then looked to Lana, the peaceful eight-month-old in her arms. "And you? You're just precious. Can you take Lan and buckle her in the car, Katie?"

"Sure thing mom," Katie took Lana, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'll start the jeep for you and get the AC going. Then Ned and I are gonna head out."

"Okay. Keep me updated on where you are, and if you beat us there you know where the spare key is hidden, right?" she said, kissing her cheek. "Drive safe."

"We will, and yes it's under the plant," Katie said, rubbing Lana's back as she rested her head on her shoulder.

Melinda watched as her daughter walked out onto the lawn and bring Lana to her car seat which was in the jeep, buckling her in accordingly. She met Ned with a kiss then as she walked out with Mackenzie and her bags.

Jim came over, taking the bags from her before going to clear Katie and Ned away from each other. He'd become a pain in their ass, liking to break up any little bit of time they try to sneak off with.

"Leave her be," she sighed, distracting Jim with a kiss. "You just pick on them too much because she's your little girl."

"Yeah. I know," he muttered, her lips pressing small kisses on his cheeks and throat as he laid his chin on the top of her head. His hands moved up and down her back. "I almost want to put them in separate cars and make her not drive."

"Oh stop," she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Or I will make you regret it." Her hands moved over his chest, squeezing his sides as she sucked on his neck.

"Mel," he groaned, turning her mouth up to his. He kissed her, and the power she held over him disappeared. It took him everything to pull away thought. "We have to get going, remember?" He moved, going to pick up her bag. He brought it to the trunk and it fits perfectly in the last spot. "Smart, huh?"

"Yes," she laughed, rubbing his sides before closing the trunk. "Let's get going. Katie, Ned! Break it up and get on the road."

"You pitch like a girl Clancy!" Carter laughed, as they walked toward the dugout. "It's all your fault we're down by three points."

"Shut up, Carter." Aaron threw his mitt into the wall. He'd thrown three base walks. Three of them.

"I don't know why they had you come up from the freshman team anyway," another player scoffed. "Joshua would've been so much better as our shortstop."

Carter grabbed his mitt from the ground before Aaron could and laughed, "Is this your loser dads?" The jerk tossed it to another player, who chuckled and pulled on the fabric. "Are you poor or something?"

"No! Just give it back." He said, grabbing for the mitt. "You ripped it!"

"Are you gonna cry, Clancy?" Carter pulled him into a headlock and as the other player dangled the mitt in the air.

Aaron struggled but was able to sneak out from under him. He jumped up, grabbed the mitt, and stormed out.

"Be back in five minutes Clancy," the coach yelled as he walked off the field. "I want to put you up at-bat."

"Okay," he yelled back.

"Aaron!" Katie cheered, looking up from her book. "Are you going up to bat this inning?"

"What are you doing out here baby?" His mom asked, fixing his hat so he could see better.

He shook his head. "I just... I needed to get out of there," he sighed, settling for a tuna sandwich and a Gatorade. He sat down in between his mom and Katie and opened the sandwich. "I choked. The guys were giving me crap."

"Just aim low and duck out before anyone can grab you," Ned suggested as he plopped down in front of him. "That's what I used to do."

"And how many times were you suspended your junior and senior year?" Katie scoffed, rolling her eyes as she punched Ned in the ribs. It was a quick, fast jab and the man winced. "Stop encouraging him. I know it sucks but sometimes you can't react to jerks."

"I was able to get out of the headlock and my mitt back, so that's all that matters," he sighed, taking a bite.

His mom rubbed his back and he enjoyed it, lying his head on her shoulder. "You were doing better when the coach pulled you out. I bet he'll give you another shot if you plead your case." Melinda nudged his side, kissing his cheek. "Everyone gets nervous during a big game."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I'll ask when we're ahead again."

"If it helps, I thought you were doing good," Melinda whispered into his hair. "You walked those three guys, that's good right?"

"No. It's not. It means my pitch was so bad the hitter gets to walk to the first base," he muttered, taking another aggressive bite of the sandwich. "Where's dad?"

Jim would know what to say. He knew baseball.

"He went to the bathroom real quick. I'm sure he'll be right back," she said.

He kept his head on her shoulder, letting his mom's warmth cheer him up a little. He was just so happy to have supportive parents. Ones that always cheered him on and encourage him to do better. And Melinda was always trying, as terrible at sports as she was.